Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by damndirtyape:

Single bottle (assume brewed in this season, but no date to prove that) poured into a Nonic glass.

Appearance: Poured a thick head that died down to a 1/8" off-white head all the way across. Some lacing on the sides of the glass as I drank it down. The beer is a amber color, right between yellow and orange. Small amount of bubbles coming up through the beer.

Smell: A sweet malt smell, with some hint of white grapes towards the end.

Taste: A malt start, followed by a bitter middle and end. The aftertaste is similar to a buttery cracker. Appealing and as it warms up, the balance tips towards the bitter, but not in a bad way.

Mouthfeel: Just a little carbonation on the tongue, otherwise a bit thick and a hint of something oily in there (lingers on the tongue and teeth).

Drinkability: I think this has to be done with a meal. By itself it's interesting, but I think it would be better over a long meal where you have this interesting flavor combination highlight things between bites. What's weird is that when I had this earlier in the season at a beer tasting with holiday goodies I thought it was great, but I only had a small glass. Now at the end of the 550ml bottle all by myself my opinion has changed.

Poured a caramel, amber, clear color with two fingers of khaki tan, frothy head. A good amount of streams of bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. Minimal lacing on the sides of the glass. Average amount of retention on the top all the way down. (Sight - 3.75)

Pours a deep gold to amber color with a light almost non existant head,arom is malty and a little spicey-sweet.Taste is a little complex malty and and slightly sweet with some biscuity flavors rounding this out.A slight skunk taste and aroma but I am quite sure it was from the bottle.This was the 2001-2002 offering.

It poured a nice clear amber/orange with a nice light head. The nose was dull with very mild fuity hints and minimal hoppiness. To be quite honest i was very disappointed with the taste...after all, Sam Smith's Oatmeal is world class and the Pale Ale is good....but this one left me wanting alot more.

Appearance  Very clear and thin-looking brown with a nice big head that laced the glass.

Smell  Nice, toasted malt aroma with a lot of sweets. I can pick up mostly molasses and dark sugars.

Taste  A little grainier than I had hoped, but otherwise it is not bad. The sweetness backs up a bit but is still present.

Mouthfeel  Thin in the mouth, which was disappointing for a winter ale. The brown sugar syrup almost films the teeth, though. Theres also a refreshing dryness to this one.

Drinkability  Its drinkable, but if Im in the mood for a seasonal winter ales I can find lots better.

Update  I originally had this in 2003 so thought Id give the 05 a review. I enjoyed it a little more this year, which may just mean that my palate has changed a bit. I still think its thin but will raise some of the other scores up a bit.

M: Dense but not syrupy. Pleasant level of carbonation. Doesn't coat the mouth.

T: Some spiciness in the flavor that I couldn't smell; beautiful malty flavor with some clove, pumpkin, currant, Christmas-y tastes. No discernible hoppiness. Like the previous poster mentioned, flavor got better as the beer reached room temp. My next one will sit out of the fridge for a bit before I pour it. The aftertaste is nice. Not a sweet beer.

O: This is a great cold-weather beer. Very enjoyable. I think I'll be buying it again in December. I can't imagine drinking this with food, it feels like an after-dinner beer. I can't see drinking two in a row, but it would fit in well with some other English ales.

Comments: Very tasty Winter Warmer. Not overdone with spices as in most WW. Almost an Old Ale but not as high ABV as most Old Ales. Good flavor & well balanced. Again, a bit sweet after a full bottle, but a smaller portion would be perfect.

I have had good luck with SS beers in the past so I thought I'd give this one a try. It poured a nice amber color with a small head that faded quicky and did not leave much in the way of lace. The smell was a little skunky with grassy and herbal scents comming through as well. The taste was skunky up front, then a really sweet flavor came through that took me by supprise and stayed there even in the aftertaste. Maybe I got a skunked bottle, so I will give this one another try sometime.

Wow, this is quite an aromatic beer. The scent exploded out of the bottle as I poured. I'm not really sure how to describe the smell. It's reminding me of a stinky cheap macro lager. Not good. Perhaps I got a skunked bottle?

The appearance is great - a deep amber with a small but frothy head.

Taste is very good. Malty, of course. There's a good bit of citrusy sweetness in there as well. The mouthfeel has a little bit of creaminess to it, which is a pleasant suprise.

In 2004, I was lucky enough to get a half-price case ($30) of S.S.'s Winter Welcome. It was the first time I had ever tried the beer, and I enjoyed it immensely. I'd love to be able to get that deal again!

This ale started off with a rich, bright amber colour ... topped with an impressive two-finger, pure white foam head; creamy consistency with plenty of retention and touch of stick.

Aroma is that of a typical English ale: toasty malts, herbal hops (a touch of coarseness) and that mineral foundation; a bit metallic. This brew's bouquet is quite soft and pleasant.

Malty flavour; toasted malts, touch of caramel. Sharp-ish hop character offsets the malts with a thin edge of citric bitterness, coarse feel, cheesy flavour in the background and a hoppy spice array of flavours helps to round things off while getting lifted into the mouthfeel by the beer's tight and lively carbonation. Notes of yeast throughout. Bone-dry finish with traces of hop flavour.

I've always had a soft spot for Samuel Smith's beers. They were probably one of my first introductions into English ales back in the mid-80's. The Winter Welcome is not only the quintessential winter warmer beer, but it's an old classic and favourite of mine. However, its dryness does get on my nerves after one, making this less drinkable in my opinion, less "wanting of another." A touch sweeter and OBT might have a grand winter session ale in their arsenal of beers.

The Winter Welcome Ale poured copper with lots off lively carbonation that resulted in a thick white head that was fairly creamy and retained well. The aroma was kind of piney, bready, alcoholic smell with some metallic and skunky tones. The taste was sweet, bready malts initially with a hoppy finish. A very smooth drinking beer but not nearly as much flavor as I would expect from a winter brew.

Poured with a huge off white head. Brew is amber colored and looks good. Scent was horrible at first..thought we got some weird macro! Oddly enough, the smell is mellowing out over time..but still isn't particularly pleasant.

The is a rather disappointing beer. There isn't much taste and the mouthfeel is like any other macro.

Taste: Smooth as much as it is crisp with in the pleasant mouth feel. Malty palate with a medium body and level carbonation. Bready malt flavours ride on top with hints of caramel and grain. Candied fruit with some buttery diacetyl and light alcoholic esters to boot. Hop bitterness is perfect and balances very well and does not intrude with excessive hop flavour at all. A little dry in the finish with a touch of butterscotch and a slow warming feeling from the alcohol that has a mild peppery flavour.

Notes: A cast and mold for a lot of the US breweries to build from in the past. Now it seems middle of the road in comparison to what is in the American market now.